Published: 09th December 2021
With 2021 drawing to a close, now is a good time to reflect on the past year. For all its challenges, it was still an improvement on 2020. Overall, 2021 seems to have been a year of adaptation and development and here at Cema Vending, we’ve made the most of it.
Cema definitely had a happy new year in 2021. We onboarded two new clients (Findel and NUAST) and expanded our relationship with Mi Hub. All three contracts were driven partly by COVID19 and partly by a desire to make the most of new technology.
Findel is a neighbour of ours (in the Victoria Business Park). They used to have a full canteen service in their 400,000 sq ft distribution centre. When COVID19 restrictions were put in place, it became impractical to continue with a full canteen operation. At the same time, staff who were still on-site needed to be fed. Cema, therefore, stepped in with a range of vending options.
NUAST and MiHub also had COVD19 in their thoughts. At the same time, they were also interested in leveraging technology to deliver a better experience for their customers. In both cases, these were mostly young adults. NUAST chose to implement biometric payment on their vending solution, thus eliminating the problem of lost payment cards. MiHub expanded its solution to include infrared water dispensers. These are highly convenient as well as hygienic.
Water dispensers look to be a key growth area for the vending industry in general and Cema vending in particular. Companies are becoming increasingly aware not just of their legal need to ensure that their workers stay properly hydrated but of the benefits of doing so.
Cema has worked to educate local employers on this. We carried out our first ever leafleting campaign specifically on the benefits of water dispensers. This was a huge success and played a significant role in the growth we have experienced over the last year. So far this year, we have onboarded 30 new customers. We’ve also expanded our team from 8 to 19.
Cema has joined forces with Johnsons Vending. This increases our range throughout the East Midlands. In fact, we are now two of the largest independent vending companies in the East Midlands. It also opens up all kinds of exciting opportunities for further growth.
We’re looking forward to being able to provide our existing and future customers with new options and to providing more jobs in the East Midlands.
Like our clients (existing and future), we have to move with the times. We’re therefore taking the plunge and moving into ecommerce. Our new Workplace Refreshments portal is intended to act as a one-stop shop for all refreshments needs.
Our new website has made it possible both for companies to set up and manage recurring purchases and for them to make ad-hoc purchases. These purchases could be anything from basic staples like milk, tea and coffee to traditional vending machine snacks, to healthy options like fresh fruit to a full corporate buffet.
